Originally Posted by carleton (Post 11082121)

There are several pedal strokes, believe it or not. Each pedal stroke work better at different cadences and/or situations. Such as:

- Mash, mash, mash (crowd favorite)
- Mash down + Pull up at the same time (for applying instant power)
- Pull, pull, pull (great for going up long steep hills)
- Full circles (great for high speeds on a big gear. Really effective.)
- Push-Pull shuffle (forward/back) (Similar to mash-down pull-up, but horizontal instead of vertical. Great for maintaining super-high cadences)
- Float (applying no pressure. Similar to coasting on a freewheel. Basically move the feet as fast as the cranks want to move to avoid putting positive or negative pressure)

To take advantage of these, you have to have a proper fitting bike and do LOTS of drills and/or riding in order to get your legs to fire efficiently. That's what makes people look smooth and polished.